Anthropology
The department of Anthropology is part of the School of Social and Political Sciences (SSPS).
Program structure and content
Anthropology is the study of the full variety of human societies and cultures. Although it shares much of its theory and method with a wide range of social and humanities disciplines, it remains distinct in its:
- emphases on cross-cultural comparison;
- interest in the range of human, cultural and social diversity;
- use of long-term field research in distinct settings as its primary research method.
While often associated with the study of small-scale societies, social anthropology is equally concerned with the investigation and analysis of contemporary social groups. Junior units introduce students to the study of cultural and social diversity, the significance of cultural difference in a globalised world, and the development of major traditions of theory about these key problems in anthropology.
Confronting cultural difference raises general issues of human cognition and communication, social structure, performance, and representation, and calls into question taken for granted categories such as religion, politics and economics. Senior units of study address these theoretical and conceptual challenges.
In regional and geographic terms, current units of study focus on both Aboriginal and immigrant Australians, as well as a wide range of Asian, Pacific and other groups and peoples.
Anthropology has a long tradition of engagement with contemporary social issues. The study of race and racism, gender inequalities across cultures, processes of urbanisation, globalisation, the dynamics of poverty, the politics of ethnicity, the social impact of development and international aid, medicine as a cultural issue, and the social experience of everyday life, have all loomed large in teaching and research. The study of anthropology will assist you in developing a discerning view on the major issues in the world today.
Requirements for a major
Students should consult the departmental website for advice on combinations of units of study that form the major.
First Year Anthropology
There are two junior Anthropology units of study, each worth six credit points:
- ANTH1001 Cultural Difference: An Introduction
- ANTH1002 Anthropology and the Global
The two junior units of study are a prerequisite for all other Anthropology units.
Major in Anthropology
A major consists of 36 senior credit points in Anthropology.
Cross-listing
Please check the cross-listing schedule located on the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences website.
Pathways
A student normally needs to do two junior units at the 1000 level and then proceed to the senior units at the 2000 level. Simultaneous completion of one of the junior units with 2000 level senior units is also permissible.
Honours (see chapter 5 for further information)
Honours entry units of study and fourth year honours are designed to develop an advanced understanding of Anthropology as a discipline with a distinctive methodology and history. The aim is to provide students with the research skills and breadth of disciplinary knowledge required for them to formulate their own research project culminating in a fourth year honours thesis.
To proceed to fourth year honours in Anthropology, students must have a credit average or better in 48 senior credit points of Anthropology, including ANTH3601 and ANTH3602 pre-honours seminars or equivalent.
Applications from students from other universities with equivalent qualifications are also encouraged.
Any problems students may encounter due to the new prerequisites should be referred to the Departmental Honours Coordinator.
Contact/further information
Department website: sydney.edu.au/arts/anthropology
Chair of Department: Professor Linda Connor
Email: